Batman Zero Year: Dark America

By Stone Washington

You're making us all watch. The whole city. You shut us out and punish us night after night, as you go out there and protect those we can't.

But if you do that, sir, if you let the past drive Batman, his scars, he becomes something dark, a demon of vengeance. Not a creature of justice or hope. And he will not last, nor will you."

~Alfred, Batman's Butler

Zero Year: Dark City – Part 1

This is the dramatic sequel in continuation of the Batman Zero Year series. It begins six years earlier when Gotham City was in a citywide blackout due to a recent terrorist attack from the mysterious new supervillian called the Riddler (aka Edward Nygma). The police scour the city in blimps searching for the revolutionary masked vigilante, the Batman, led by the hot-headed police chief, Commissioner Loeb, a police squad barricades a tunnel where Batman was seen driving. Batman races his innovative Batmobile toward the heavily guarded barricade. Much to Loeb's surprise, Batman activates his static bond tires while shifting his wheels, allowing the car to leap off the ground and stick to the ceiling of the tunnel, leaving Batman to drive over the astonished band of police. Furious, Loeb asks Lt. Jim Gordon (soon to be famous character) if the crime scene Batman just sped away from was disturbed. Facing Gordon is a scientist hoisted into the air by his own skeleton ripping out of his body similar to the branches of a tree. As Gordon and his partner investigate the gruesome scene, they discuss if Batman is truly at fault for this crime and a previous murder of another scientist by bone implosion, as Loeb believes. Gordon disagrees and believes Batman is a hero for helping others in the chaos during the blackout.

Meanwhile in the Batcave, Bruce Wayne changes out of his Batman costume while speaking with his faithful butler, Alfred. Bruce speculates on how the Riddler sent a surge to knock out the power in the city, but despite electrical engineers working to fix it, Bruce believes this will play into Riddler's scheme by activating another of his "riddles." Because of this fear, Bruce works on an electric jammer to stop any other electrical scheme Riddler may use, especially during the reported superstorm bound to hit Gotham. Bruce then deduces how the previous deceased scientists have been killed by a chemical that expands bone growth until the body is ripped apart. The man suspected behind this is Dr. Karl Helfern, a former Wayne scientist, aka Dr. Death, because of his radical experiments would often kill his subjects. Climbing out of the cave with Alfred, Bruce is suddenly confronted by Lt. Gordon, who overhears Bruce's conversation on how all police are corrupt. As Gordon attempts to congratulate Wayne's recent return to Gotham and bravery against the Red Hood Gang, Bruce interrupts him having no interest with him at the time. Despite trying to form an alliance with the billionaire in finding the perpetrator killing Wayne's scientists, Bruce ventures out in search of the one man who can help him find Dr. Death.

Late night at Gotham University, Bruce confronts a former Wayne scientist named Lucius Fox who embraces Wayne. Within his engineering laboratory Bruce asks him about Dr. Helfern, who Lucius explains was a rogue scientist that created a revolutionary nano-medicine, "Treated bones would react to trauma by suddenly hardening at the point of impact. Even growing new cells. The implications were tremendous. A soldier's skull protecting his brain from bullets." But the research was uncontrollable, causing Helfern to lose his job and disappear. Suddenly Lucius Fox stabs Bruce with a syringe, causing Wayne to pass out as a mysterious hooded figure enters the room. The man reveals himself to be none other than the sinister Dr. Death, who proclaims, "Doctor Death is coming and you're not going to be able to stop him. No one will, old friend because believe me when I say this city has never seen anything like me. And I'm just getting started."

Zero Year: Dark City – Part 2

Bruce Wayne awakens to find the skeletal beast of a man, Dr. Death choking Lucius Fox. Death has injected himself with his serum but has not died from its effects. Fox is on Dr. Death's hit list of Wayne scientists as the villain injects him with his diabolical serum. As Fox screams Bruce smacks Death with a pole, causing the bone on his arm to instantly harden and grow (result of his serum). Bruce is knocked back by the Dr., who then ties Fox down; angered by the fact that he had secretly injected Bruce and himself with an antidote against Death's serum. Dr. Death then searches the lab for Bruce while taunting him about dark secrets in his past that only the Dr. knows concerning Wayne. Suddenly Bruce activates a large jet engine that sucks the villain up, presumably shredding him to pieces. Bruce frees Fox and the two dash toward the exit. Suddenly Dr. Death grabs Bruce's head and begins crushing his skull. As Bruce becomes unconscious from the pressure, Lt. Gordon miraculously appears just in time and shoots Death in the arm, causing him to flee from the scene


Bruce awakes handcuffed to a bed in the hospital comforted by Alfred, who tells him that his skull was almost crushed. Bruce disregards this and asks for his Batsuit in order to stop Riddler from causing another blackout before the arrival of the superstorm. Suddenly Lt. Gordon barges in and demands that Wayne provide information on Dr. Death's whereabouts and works together with him. But Bruce rejects him on the remembrance of Gordon's corruption with the police back when Wayne skipped school as a boy. Gordon and his partner Lt. Corrigan had apprehended him and were making stops at different shops to check on everyone's safety. But Bruce remembered how Corrigan handed Gordon a lavish trench coat he and his partner continue to wear today, indicating that they were actually payoffs from the shops for protection. Suddenly Bruce breaks his handcuffs grabbing Gordon's gun and pointing at him indicating that what he remembers most that day was his parents shooting. He tells Gordon he'll never trust him or the police and leaves with Alfred.

Later, Batman travels by boat to the Wayne Weather Center where the last Wayne scientists reside who are believed to be Dr. Death's next targets. Inside Batman finds that the scientists have already been infected by Dr. Death's serum and watches in horror as their bones mutate and burst out of their bodies. Suddenly Batman is confronted by Commissioner Loeb and several SWAT officers who begin to open fire on the Dark Knight. Batman is pelted by a barrage of bullets that tear up his suit. Surrounded by police boats outside, Batman races back inside the building dodging bullets. He narrowly escapes Loeb and the SWAT by using an oxygen tank to propel him into the ocean from a pool inside.

In the water Batman is suddenly confronted by Lt. Gordon on boat who saves the Dark Knight much to his dislike. Gordon tells Batman how the Riddler exposed his location to the police. He reveals that Batman should work together with him as his heroism reminds him of Bruce Wayne (Batman's alter ego). He reveals how after Gordon received his payoff trench coat he investigated on his partner Corrigan whom he found to be involved in illegal dogfighting with thugs and gangsters. Gordon finds that Commissioner Loeb and the entire police are corrupt. When he threatens Corrigan to expose this to the news, they release the dogs on Gordon. They cheered and jeered as Gordon fought for his life, "I remember it took me a moment through the pain and my own screams to realize they were cheering on the dogs," Gordon said. After killing the dogs, he pointed a gun to Corrigan only for him to back down after being threatened that Gordon's children could be in the same situation as him. Gordon reveals that he wears the trench coat as a threat to the police that he hasn't forgotten that day. As Gordon finishes the story he turns around to find Batman has just disappeared.

Later in the Batcave, Bruce puts the finishing touches on his jammer device made to stop Riddler's scheme. Alfred urges Bruce to allow others to help him. He tells Bruce that he is angry with everyone, including himself and Gordon, as not being there for Bruce when his parents were murdered. Alfred challenges Batman's altruistic motives to save Gotham city, saying,

"You're making us all watch. The whole city. You shut us out and punish us night after night, as you go out there and protect those we can't. But if you do that, sir, if you let the past drive Batman, his scars, he becomes something dark, a demon of vengeance. Not a creature of justice or hope. And he will not last, nor will you."

Taking this into consideration, Batman ventures out to the Gotham bone catacombs in search of Dr. Death's laboratory where he believes is located. Upon finding the lab Batman finds a blueprint with a doomsday machine meant to cripple the city. Much to Batman's shock the Riddler appears on the TV monitor and announces that his plans will grant him control of Gotham city. Suddenly Riddler detonates a bomb causing sewer water to swallow up Batman and the catacombs.

Zero Year Dark City – Part 3

After the water has passed, Batman bursts out of the rubble of bones and sewage in a rage. He contacts Lt. Gordon who is assisting citizens to hide in shelters from the treacherous superstorm. He tells Gordon he needs to stop Riddler from setting off a doomsday device (stolen from all the Wayne scientists) before the police turn on power to the city, which will in turn trigger the device. Suddenly the police blimps and everyone on the ground gaze up into the eye of the storm and see a humongous black blimp operated by Batman.


He searches for Riddler's blimp that will activate the doomsday machine. Suddenly lighting strikes the blimp causing Batman to take an impossible leap from the airship as it descends in flames. Using his grapple hook, Batman miraculously latches onto Riddler's blimp. On the ship Batman is suddenly confronted by Dr. Death. Meanwhile in Wayne Tower Gordon corners Riddler who escapes from the cop by dropping a five ton boulder near him using Archimedes pulley system, trapping Gordon underground. Elsewhere, Batman battles Dr. Death while trying to convince him of Riddler's destructive scheme. But Death indicates that his serum will toughen everyone's bones and protect all from injuries after Riddler's destruction of Gotham. During the battle Death causes Batman to drop the jammer device off the blimp greatly angering the Dark Knight. Batman punches, kicks, and pulverizes Death with a vengeance until his jagged bones pin him down to the ship. Batman moves to jam Riddler's ship in another way by planting an explosive in the control room. Dr. Death reveals to Batman that he gave up hope in people long ago when his son died in a military search for Bruce Wayne (during the time he went missing before becoming a hero). He tells Batman the only way to protect others is by protecting yourself. Breaking free from his hold Death impales Batman with his boney fingers. Suddenly the explosive goes off sending shrapnel into Dr. Death's back, slowly killing the villain. Meanwhile, led by Corrigan the police turn on the power (ignoring Gordon's warning not to) causing Riddler to activate his doomsday machine, negating the power allowing the flood of ocean water to swallow up the city streets. As Riddler disappears into the frenzy of the storm, Gordon and Batman talk on how they both failed. Suddenly Batman's airship explodes causing the blimp to descend to the ground amid the turmoil on the streets.

Message for Modern Day

Batman's dark origins have many hidden similarities to elements within American society. Gotham city in the midst of a blackout represents how American ideals and traditions are currently being blotted out of History and removed into the darkness of irrelevance. Like Gotham, America has become a devil's playground where lawlessness is the new law and morality is frowned upon unless it fits the Progressive liberal paradigm. Bruce Wayne/Batman represents the controversial Republican Party which means to save America by preserving traditional values, upholding the original intent of the Constitution, and maintaining a balanced government. But in actuality the GOP has become the shortcoming of its platform abandoning Conservatism by misrepresenting all these qualities in favor of a weak-bodied Progressive RINO establishment. Throughout the story Batman ultimately forsakes all that he swore to protect in his pursuit of vengeance by holding a hidden grudge against the World for failing to help him in his time of need: the murder of his parents at the hands of a criminal. Likewise the GOP dooms all Conservatives, Black Republicans (like my father Professor Ellis Washington who has been denied support from Republicans for over 30 years), Tea Party members, and other Republican affiliated people who have lost touch with the unrecognizable "Grand Old Party" which in 2015 is the moribund Socialist Republican Party.

Lt. Gordon represents the neglected voice of reason amongst the corrupt police force led by the brash bulldog Commissioner Loeb, whom represents the Progressive Socialist Democrat Party. Just how Liberals are on a wild goose chase for solutions propagating pseudo-sciences like Socialism slavery, Eugenics, Social Darwinism, Global Warming, and Climate Change, the Gotham police waste their efforts on chasing Batman, the only hope to saving Gotham while the city descends into chaos by the real threat, Dr. Death, whom as you can imagine represents the ubiquitous Iranian chant, "Death to America" the oncoming threat of global terrorism as a result of President Barack Obama's horrible U.S.-Iran Nuclear deal. This fraudulent 'treaty' will facilitate Iran building nuclear bombs and arming their intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to hit both Israel ("Little Satan") and America ("Great Satan") as the radical Islamic Ayatollah's repeatedly threatened America since the 1979 Iranian Uprising.

America, will we cast out our Judeo-Christian traditions and institutions, Reason, and Veritas (Truth) as the greatest nation in the history of the world? Will America fall victim to the existential treason of the Democrat Socialist Party against America for over 200 years – thrashed and twisted, as when Lt. Gordon attempted to expose police cronyism, while the world around us descends into existential anarchy, nihilism and dystopia as ISIS, Sunni and Shiite Muslim hegemony rampages across Europe in ever more grotesque and global dimensions? It is my hope that a new generation of strong, courageous, principled, and intelligent leaders will arise who believe in the rule of law and the Constitution and make America great again by bringing economic and fiscal responsibility and by defeating the terrorists and the Democrat Socialists in the shadows of the government before America reaches the point of no return... a dark nation. Time will tell for both Gotham and for America.

© Stone Washington